Chuka Ugwu-Oju will be appearing at Difficult to Name at Study Hall Gowanus on May 13.
You're a lawyer. I feel like I could never be a lawyer because I'd always be freaking out that there's some document out there that I didn't read that could have Cracked Open the Case or whatever. Without opening yourself up to lawsuits or anything, do you worry about stuff like that?
I work in-house for a Paris-based market research company, so I can't say I have much case cracking experience. Still, I'd imagine that the fear you've missed something vital is fundamental to the lawyer experience, which some might attribute to the temperament of our tribe. When I'm feeling stressed out, I try to remember that in my world, the worst case scenario is my multinational corporate employer has to tell its shareholders that it generated marginally less revenue that quarter. I'm sure civilization would find a way to endure.
What do you think is going to be The Song of the Summer?
Oh wow. My most played track of last summer was a five and a half minute instrumental song put out by a modern jazz band, so I'm probably not the person to ask. I can say that I've been listening to "Don't Smoke K2" by Denmark Vessey quite a bit these past few days. It's both a fantastic song and, I'd argue, pretty solid life advice.
What can people expect from your reading? Are you going to have actors perform? I just have one mic. Can't wait!
They can expect some smiles and some cries, though I'd imagine the smile to cry ratio will vary from person to person. Two extremely talented actors, Molly Samson and Laleh Khorsandi, are going to be reading the play. I'll probably end up reading a few of the stage directions, but I'll do my best to keep that to a minimum. We're all very excited to see how the play's received. Thanks again for giving us this opportunity!